Red Twilight
by Echopool11
Summary: A young kit is born to a rouge named Night.She is young and the world holds many dangers, but she is strong and determined to face them all.The one danger she is not expecting, however, is her own father.He kidnaps her from the life of a rouge and forces her to become a clan cat.Little does he know, the kit has been raised to be savage, and there is much in store for her destiny.
1. Prolouge: Night's Escape

**Red Twilight**

**Prologue**

"Night? Night!" A dark tom crashed through the undergrowth yelling out the name. "Night! Where are you?"

A black she-cat hissed in irritation. She twenty tail-lengths away from the yowling tom, and was doing her best not to be noticed. She ducked behind a tree, wrinkling her nose at the stench of the vine-covered dead forest.

It had flooded many seasons back and all the trees had died, but thorns and other undergrowth had grown back quickly. The trees were all white and dead and their limbs were falling off. The forest groaned and creaked, as if it was still dying, and it stunk of decay. Every few seconds there was the sound of a dead, rotten branch falling to the ground with a thunk. The black dappled she-cat was darting from prickly bush to dark shadow to slimy ditch, staying out of sight in this dark forest.

She hissed again and almost fell over, digging her claws into the slimy soil as pain streaked through her stomach and body. Her kits were coming soon and she had to get away from the tom. Her mate. If he caught her, he'd take away her kits and she couldn't let that happen. She tried not to groan and shut her eyes tightly against the powerful ache.

"Night!" he bellowed again.

Night flattened her ears and crouched in the shadow of the dead white tree, her black dappled pelt blending easily against the dark soil. Her purple eyes flashed as the yowling grew fainter. Her mate, Blackberryfang, was heading towards the setting sun. The gloominess of the forest seemed to make everything dark. Instead of the normal array of colors usually seen in the sunset, everything was washed out and pale. The sun itself seemed to be grey.

She clenched her teeth to keep from crying out as another spasm racked her body. She crawled weakly under a half-dead thorn bush that had been strangled by the other plants around it, and after what seemed like many, agonizing hours, there were three black, squirming kits beside her. Two toms and a she-kit. She purred weakly in relief.

The black dappled she-cat sniffed them all briefly, but quickly turned her attention to the she-kit. It was sheathing and unsheathing it's claws, kneading the ground before her. The kit opened her tiny pink mouth and wailed weakly, her eyes still tightly shut. Night gazed eerily at the kit and after a quick glance around, she tested it.

Night carefully unsheathed a single claw and quickly jabbed the kit in the flank, drawing a drop of blood. In a flash, the kit had rolled and batted at her mother's paw with tiny soft claws unsheathed. Her blue eyes popped open and she glared balefully at Night.

The purple-eyed cat smiled chillingly and moved the kit closer to her stomach so it could feed. After hesitating a moment or so, the kit latched on and started to suckle. Night then turned her attentions to the two toms. They were clambering over each other and mewling profusely. Night curled her lip in disgust as she watched them.

Her eyes flashed as she picked them up, one at a time, and with a sharp jerk, broke both their necks.


	2. Chapter One: Twilight

**Chapter One**

Twilight crept through the undergrowth quietly. She was making as little noise as possible, desperately trying to stay undetected. Before her was her prey. A huge white mushroom loomed in front of her. It was pale and sickly, growing from a rotting log. Musty scent emanated from it, making Twilight wrinkle her nose. She gathered her paws underneath her and prepared to pounce on it. She narrowed her eyes... and leaped.

The log grew closer and she unsheathed her tiny claws, ready to rip and tear at the mushrooms flesh. Then she stopped. She hung a few whisker lengths from the mushroom, her paws flailing uselessly in the air. She could feel teeth sinking into her scruff, and yowled, "Mom! I almost had it!"

Twilight's mother dropped the angry kit and faced her calmly as the kit spun around to look petulantly at its mother. The kit glared as angrily as it could at the black dappled cat with purple eyes. Her mother, Night.

"Your tail was waving around in the air right before you pounced, and the wind was driving your scent towards the target," meowed Night crossly, "For being born at such an easy time to hide, you aren't doing a great job on stalking"

Twilight had earned her name in two ways. She was born at twilight, but she also had a beautiful tail that reflected upon that time. It was white at its tip and black at its base, but everywhere in between was shades of grey. It faded in a stunning way that reminded Night of the way the lifeless forest had been at twilight. Black and grey with no fleck of color to be seen.

"I'll try harder next time, mother," sighed Twilight, "When can I catch my own prey?" she questioned, giving her already snowy white fore paw a lick. A bit of clay had smeared across her pad, and she grimaced at the overly earthy flavor it.

"Your only two moons old," meowed Night, "Your claws haven't hardened yet. Once your three moons old, I'll allow you to catch voles and other small prey"

"Okay, Mother," Twilight meowed glumly. Night picked her sullen daughter up and began padding back towards her den. After Twilight was born, Night had left the dilapidated wood far behind and headed for a lush, green, oak forest. Blackberryfang would have a hard time finding where they had gone, and the oak trees had a thick layer of vines surrounding them. It was hard for anything to get in... Or out.

Twilight tried to stay patient while she waited for her mother to arrive at the den, but soon grew bored. She looked around, trying to memorize the trees around her. Flicking her tail, she spotted an old fox burrow. She shuddered, remembering how her mother had left her two brothers at the entrance to the den, and how they were gone the next day.

Night had explained to Twilight that a vixen named Scarlett lived there, and how the two had known each other for a long time. Scarlett didn't speak cat, and Night didn't speak fox, but the two had a mutual agreement in place. Twilight would not be harmed by Scarlett so long as Night lived. Even so, Twilight shook with fear every time she so much as thought of the blood red fox. As Twilight stared at the shadowy burrow she thought she saw a bit of movement. Two green eyes appeared through the gloom, watching the two cats. The blinked slowly, lazily, and a long muzzle slid out of the darkness. It was red. And shiny. But I though fox muzzles were supposed to be black... thought Twilight. Then she realized. The fox's muzzle was slick with blood.

Twilight bit her lip to keep from screaming aloud, and only muttered a small cry of terror. She shut her eyes tightly and shivered uncontrollably.

"We're here," meowed Night and dropped Twilight next to a half buried hollow log. The scared kit popped her eyes open. They had been squeezed shut ever since they passed the den. Now she leaped into the entrance to her den, landing on a nest and scattering moss everywhere.

"Twilight, clean that up," meowed Night indolently as she flicked a scrap of moss from her ear.

"Oops, sorry mother," meowed Twilight in a slightly shaky voice. She just knew she was going to have dreams about foxes tearing her apart that night. She clawed together all the chunks of moss and dumped it on the ferns that made up the base of the bed. Night sighed and began to dig of the corner of the den. She soon unearthed several prey items. She selected a fat rodent from the food store and began munching on it. Twilight shoved the dirt back over the prey storage hole and began suckling her mother's milk. After she was full and content, her eye lids started to dip and flutter. She soon fell into a fitful sleep. And she was right. She did dream of foxes that night.


	3. Chapter Two: First Blood

**Chapter Two**

"Stretch your claws," meowed Night.

"I'm trying, mother!" mewed Twilight. She was balancing on her hind paws, trying to hit a dangling vine. It was just out of reach. She just needed to stretch one more whisker length. Just a little bit closer and... She couldn't do it. She dropped down to all four paws. "I can't... I can't do it mother," she mewed, defeated. Night hissed and slapped her daughter across the face.

Twilight staggered back, shocked. Night's claws had been sheathed, but it still hurt. Night had NEVER hit Twilight before. "Don't you EVER say that again," growled Twilight, "That you can't do something. You can, I know you can. You ARE my daughter after all. Aren't you?. Night's eyes narrowed to slits at the last few words.

"Y-yes, mother," squeaked Twilight. Night stared at the kit for a moment, as if it were a piece of fresh kill, then spoke in a silky smooth voice.

"Come on Twilight, let's catch your first prey," she said and smiled.

"Really?" asked an astonished Twilight. It was still two days until she was three moons old, but she had been eating morsels of fresh kill and her claws were sharp enough to shred soft tree bark.

"Yes, I think you're ready," meowed Night, "Come with me then, and I'll show you were you'll be hunting"

"Okay, mother," meowed Twilight happily, the slap forgotten. She nearly had to run to keep up with her mother as she walked through the forest, but Twilight's muscles were lean and strong. Twilight's fur was also sleeker than most kits her age as well. Even so, she was out of breath as she trotted through the familiar trees. Twilight had been paying attention during her walks through the forest, and she had memorized most of the wood. However, she hadn't yet been to the spot where her mother was taking her, and the forest grew more and more unfamiliar and sinister looking.

Soon, Night and Twilight arrived at the edge of a large, sunny meadow. The darkness of the forest seemed to melt away in the sunshine and scent of fragrant flowers. Better yet, Twilight could hear prey scuttling through the tall grass, and the scent of prey bathed her tongue.

"Do you remember your stalking training?" queried Night. Twilight nodded and crouched, ready to dart forward and grab unsuspecting prey.

"Very good," purred Night, "Now go and see if you can catch something".

Twilight stalked into the grass, listening for the scuffling of prey. Soon, she pinpointed the exact location of a deer mouse scuffling in the dirt. She crept towards the rodent, her paws light on the ground. She moved towards it quickly, but froze as she saw it's ears twitch. She caught her breath, willing it not to detect her, but the mouse only paused for a second before continuing to dig for seeds. Twilight tensed her muscles, preparing to dart towards the mouse. She took a step forward... and stepped on a twig. It snapped and the mouse looked directly at her. Twilight tried to hook it with her claws, but it had already darted into its den.

Twilight hissed and tried sniffing for any more prey, but everything was in its hiding holes. Disappointed and empty-pawed, she headed back where she knew her mother's disapproval was waiting. She could smell a fresh-kill and knew her mother had caught something. Twilight's ears burned with shame.

As she stepped into the clearing, she saw a huge rabbit underneath her mother's paws. "Did you not catch anything," asked Night.

"N-no," stammered Twilight as she stared at her paws. She could feel her mother's icy stare boring into her pelt. "I'm sorry, mother," said Twilight weakly.

She heard her mother sigh, "Well I guess you weren't as strong as I thought".

"Mom! I tried my hardest! You told me that some cats don't even begin training until their six moons old. Maybe I'm not as special as I thought, but I can still be better than those other cats! Just give me another chance!" Twilight burst out with a sob and stared up pleadingly at her mother.

Night watched her kit for a second, then gave a long sigh. Quietly and deliberately she meowed, "You are special. You are a fighter. That's why I chose you instead of your litter mates. Your father was the strongest cat in LunarClan. He was deputy and could fight a fox single-pawed. And your mother, well..." Night looked directly into her daughters eyes.

"Both of my parents were killed by a fox when I was your age" Twilight's jaw dropped in shock. "Yes Twilight, when I was only three moons old and barely able to eat meat, my parents were killed," meowed Night, "I never did love them. They were whimsical and weak. Their lack of power was made apparent by the fox. For some reason, the fox decided to spare me. Perhaps the old vixen saw a kindred spirit in me, when it looked into my eyes."

"After that, I followed her for moons. Just out of sight, feeding of the scraps of her fresh-kill. I'm sure she knew I was there, but I think she enjoyed my company. By watching the fox, I learned how to hunt and fight, and when I was old enough to care for myself, I came face to face with the fox. And I killed her." Twilight caught her breath.

"But... why?" she meowed.

Night explained, "The fox killed my parents, Twilight. They were weak, but they were still my parents. They brought me into the this world and cared for me until I was able to care for myself. And after I killed the fox, I went back to her den. And in her den, I discovered a single fox cub. I cared for the fox cub and raised it until it was able to care for itself, then I sent it off. Though while it was being cared by me, I gave the cub a name. I named that cub Scarlett"

Twilight stared at her mother. THE Scarlett that ate her brothers? "Aren't you worried that Scarlett will get revenge on you like you got revenge on her mother?" asked Twilight. _And what if Scarlett then raised me?_Twilight added mentally. Her mouth went dry in fear at the thought of being raised by the red fox.

"No, I'm not worried," said Night, "Scarlett couldn't even attempt to kill me unless I was too old and weak to even hunt. And besides it's in both our best interests to remain passive towards each other. Though I must say in the time I raised her and stalked her mother, I learned much from foxes," continued Night, "Vixens in particular. They are cunning creatures and much stronger in mind and body than any cat. Males can be tricked and easily manipulated, but vixens - and she-cats - are conniving. That's why I chose you. Toms are strong in body, but only a female can truly use trickery to win our wars. Why fight when you can convince a tom to do it for you?" Night laughed. It was a cold laugh, and Twilight could feel her mother's words sinking in.

"Learning to fight is still a good idea though," meowed Night, "And a she-cat who can hunt for herself can stay independent from anyone and anything"

Twilight nodded eagerly. "Let me try hunting again! There's bound to be something out there now!"

"Yes, let's see my little vixen catch her first prey," she said with a smile.

Twilight darted out into the tall grass once again, taking care to step lightly. Up ahead, she spotted a huge, dark colored mouse. It was as big as Twilight herself!

She tip-toed towards it, her feet soft on the ground. The bristly furred mouse looked up, but it's back was towards Twilight. She raced forward, just as it turned. She saw its wild eyes and she could taste it's fear scent. With a leap, she pounced on it. She used her learned battle skills to wrestle it to the ground and rip it's throat out with her sharp white teeth. Her mother emerged from the grass in front of her.

"Well done, my daughter. You've caught your first rat," she meowed with glittering violet eyes.


	4. Chapter Three: The Father's Return

**Chapter Three**

Twilight yawned. She had been training all day. Hunting, learning to use kill blows, and how to manipulate cats. It was hard work learning all those skills, but now she was taking a break. Night was out collecting prey while Twilight was allowed to nap in the warm sunshine in front of the den. She was five moons old. Her eyes had got from the blue that most kits were born with to the light purple of her mother's eyes. Soon she would be getting a den for herself, but for now she still had a mother to help her survive in the world.

Twilight rolled onto her back and batted lazily at a passing butterfly. It skillfully avoided her and flew up into the early leaf-fall trees. Their leaves were just beginning to turn golden and red. Twilight couldn't wait to see her first Leaf-fall. She wasn't looking forward to Leaf-bare though.

Just as she began drifting off to sleep, Twilight heard footsteps. For a second, she though it was a squirrel, but realized it was too heavy for that. It must me Night, she thought, but the footsteps were too heavy for that too. With a jolt, she realized it must be Scarlett, and quickly snapped into a standing position.

She stared at the creature that made the footsteps... and saw black fur. The cat was much bigger than Night and had an unfamiliar scent. The scent of a tom, she realized as he bounded towards her.

Twilight turned to run into the den, but the tom pounced on her and pinned her with a paw. Twilight shrieked and bit down on the restraining paw with all her might, but the tom's fur was too thick and she ended up spitting out a mouthful of black fuzz.

As she spit out the black fur, the tom spoke with a loud, booming voice. "Do you know a she-cat named Night? I've been looking for her and her kits," he meowed.

Twilight stared at him with huge, purple eyes.

"Do you know where she is, kit? I am Blackberryfang. What is your name?"

Twilight stammered, "B-Blackberryfang? But... My m-mother is N-Night". Blackberryfang stared at the frightened kit.

"What is your named, kit?" He asked in a softer voice.

"Twilight" meowed the black kit in a quiet whisper.

"Twilight..." the huge tom mewed, breathlessly, "Twilight, I am your father".

Twilight nodded wordlessly and winced. She knew her father's name, but she was still shocked by him showing up here. The thick vines and thistles that ringed the woods were thick and it must have taken ages for a big cat like Blackberryfang to get through.

He had long and silky jet black fur, and dark purple eyes. Twilight realized that her silky fur must have come from Blackberryfang; Night was a short-haired cat. Twilight's eyes weren't like his though. She had piercing light purple eyes, like her mother.

"Twilight?" meowed Blackberryfang, shaking Twilight from her thoughts. "Do you have any litter mates?"

Twilight paused and answered, "No... Just me. I had two brothers, but it's just me now". Blackberry nodded with a pained look.

"I see. How did they...," He trailed off, leaving the final word unsaid.

"They were too weak," Twilight answered curtly.

"Oh. That's...," he sighed, "If only there was... Never mind,". He looked at Twilight sympathetically. She gazed back at him, her face as cold as stone. As if just realizing he was still pinning Twilight down, Blackberryfang quickly let her up and stepped over to Twilight's den. "Is this were you've been living?" he asked.

Twilight nodded and her unsheathed a claw. He quickly carved a claw-moon symbol into the side of the den. "What's that for?" asked Twilight.

"It's so your mother knows where you've gone," he explained.

"Oh. Wait, what?" Twilight shrieked as Blackberryfang scooped her up by grabbing her scruff.

"If Night wants to join LunarClan, she can, but you are not going to grow up to become a savage rouge. You will be raised as a Clan cat," meowed Blackberryfang sternly.

"Let me go!" screeched Twilight. She slashed out with her claws, cutting off some of her father's long black fur. Instead of dropping her, he chuckled.

"You'll make a fine warrior," he purred.

"I don't want to be a warrior! Let me go right now!" Twilight screamed, but soon realized that it was useless to try and fight. She sniffed and tried not to cry.

"You'll see, Twilight," meowed Blackberryfang, "LunarClan is a much better place than out there. If you get sick, cats will care for you. When you get old, you can become an elder. You won't have to do everything on your own." On my own is the best place to be, thought Twilight. Night was right. Clan cats were weak and pathetic.

Soon they came to a back in the vines and thorns. It looked like Blackberryfang had simply shoved his way through, leaving behind a large portion of fur. Twilight squeaked as a thorn stabbed her in the side, but Blackberryfang didn't stop. He kept going until they reached a large hilly terrain. On top of the tallest hill, Twilight spotted a cave. There were two cats sitting outside, who waved their tails when they saw Blackberryfang. One of them ran inside, and soon a group of four cats ran out to greet the tom.

Blackberryfang put Twilight on the soft grass. She dropped down into a shuddering crouch as the wind blew harshly through her fur. She had never felt wind as powerful as this before.

"Twilight," meowed Blackberryfang, "You are joining this clan. As a clan cat, you will have the name Twilightkit"

'What's wrong with my name as it is?' thought Twilight angrily.

"You will become an apprentice and learn the warrior code soon. I expect you make your clan proud," he continued on. Twilight continued to think rebellious thoughts, until the patrol reached them.

"Blackberryfang! I see you finally found your kits. After five moons of searching... I was getting worried that you would never find them. Is this the only one?" meowed a dark ginger tom. A cream colored she-cat, a black tom, and a white she-cat with grey flecks stood behind him.

"That's right, Darkfern," meowed Blackberryfang proudly.

"Well come on, let's bring her back to camp!" Darkfern meowed.

"What's her name?" Asked the small cream colored cat.

"Twilightkit," responded Blackberryfang and scooped his kit up and followed the patrol back to camp. Twilight stared at them with loathing. She hated her new name and these cats. And this clan. And her father. She hated it all.

The patrol entered the cave on top of the hill, and Twilightkit was placed ceremoniously on the ground. All the cats gathered around, and she flattened her ears in fear. There were so many of them... One of the kits walked slowly over to her.

"Who's she? She smells weird... She's not from this Clan... She's a rouge! She doesn't belong here!" squeaked the little white she-kit.

"Greenkit! Hush!" hissed a queen and rushed over to collect her kit. But Greenkit was right. Twilight didn't belong here. Twilight felt something she had never felt before. Loneliness. She was alone. And the only person who could save her from this terrible loneliness was Night.


	5. Chapter Four: LunarClan

**Chapter Four**

Twilightkit sniffed at the air. It was thick and filled with the smell of milk. She had been living in the LunarClan nursery for a week and still hated waking up in the small stuffy cave. As she slowly opened her eyes she became aware of kits mewing outside. She curled her lip. The kits were all her age, but much weaker and soft. One of them still even had kit fuzz at five moons old! Twilightkit had lost her fuzz and gotten smooth and sleek fur ages ago. She couldn't believe how pampered these cats were.

She dragged herself out of the small nest that had been placed in the corner of the cave. None of the queens were willing to let Twilightkit into their nest after seeing how unhappy she was. So Twilightkit slept by herself. She didn't mind though. She liked sleeping alone and not in a nest full of kicking, wriggling weaklings. She gave her long fur a quick grooming and crept out of the nursery, taking care to step on one of the queen's tail on the way out. The queen grumbled something in her sleep and rolled over. Twilightkit couldn't help but curl her lip once more.

As she stepped out of the nursery she saw the four kits who shared the den play fighting. A few older cats watched them play with smiles on their stupid Clan cat faces. The kits wrestled each other and batted at each other's ears. They kept squeaking out the entire time. "I'm a big angry badger and I'm gonna get you!" mewled one. The other three squealed and scurried out of the way as the 'badger' charged at them. Twilightkit huffed. Badgers were much bigger and threatening than a tiny white kit. Twilightkit would know, Night had shown her a badger when she was three moons old, and the little she-kit was a pathetic disgrace compared to its huge and ferocious size.

One of the kits, a golden she-kit named Fernkit, saw Twilightkit watching. She stopped running and looked at Twilightkit curiously. "Do you want to play?" she asked.

Twilightkit took a step back in wonder. These kits wanted _her_ to play? Twilight was better than all of them and now they wanted her to play fight with them? It was a ridiculous notion and she drew a breath to tell them just what she thought of their offer to let her play.

"Yea, come on you big ole fur ball!" squeaked Fernkit's brother, Oakkit. He was larger than the other kits and dark gold in color. Twilightkit drew herself up indignantly. "You're not afraid are you?" he laughed, "Scared of a big mean Clan cat like me?" Twilightkit felt her ears burn in fury at the arrogant tom's words. Twilightkit stalked towards him, her legs stiff with anger. Oakkit crouched, tail in the air, a smile on his face at her advance. Twilightkit didn't share his apparent glee. She had been trained to fight, to seriously injure, and when she was finished with this tom; she knew he wouldn't be smiling.

"Sneak attack!" yowled a kit as it leaped onto Twilightkit's side. It was Berrykit, a ginger tom with white spots. He was part of the same litter as Oakkit and Fernkit and thought that Twilightkit's advance was a playful one, as did everyone else. Twilightkit screeched in rage and spun, unsheathed her claws and dragging it across the young toms stomach. He let out a yell of pain and fell, blood pouring from the long scratch in his belly. One of the older cats watching, a silver tabby she-cat, let out a gasp of shock and started to rush forward, but not before Twilightkit spun to face Oakkit. His smile was gone, replaced by a look of shock and horror. He tried to back away, but Twilightkit leaped on him, tearing her claws at his face. He yelped and tried to knock her off, but Twilightkit bit down on his ear. She felt a cat grab her scruff and drag her off him, but she didn't let go of the ear and she felt it tear in her jaws.

Everything became a rush as she was carried away and out of the main cave. Queens rushed out to help their kits, and a medicine cat called out for cobwebs. Twilightkit was dropped outside the cave, and the cat who grabbed her quickly rushed back inside. Twilightkit saw her chance for freedom and took a step away from the cave, but a paw landed on her back and forced her to the ground.

"Twilightkit, what have you done?" growled a deep voice. It was her father, he was pinning her down. Twilightkit hissed her rage at him, but he seemed unaffected. "How could you attack your own clan mates?" Blackberryfang asked in a horrified voice.

Twilightkit hissed, "They are not my clan mates! I don't belong here. I am not a clan cat!"

"You are my daughter, that makes you a clan cat," responded Blackberryfang angrily. "And if you don't stop this foolishness, I will delay your apprentice ceremony!"

"Good!" yelled Twilightkit, her ears drooping in misery, "I don't want to be a clan cat! I don't want to be here!"

Blackberryfang sighed and was about to respond, when a black tom emerged from the den. He looked at Twilightkit angrily and meowed, "The kits are going to be fine, but Oakkit is scarred for life. Your stupid rouge kit should never have been allowed to join the clan. I hope you punish her severely"

Twilightkit felt her father stiffen and for a second, she thought he was going to drive his claws into her shoulders, but instead he merely growled at the tom, "Twilightkit is my kit. And I will treat her however I wish to". The black tom huffed and stalked back inside the cave, giving Twilightkit a dangerous look.

"Don't worry, my kit, I'll make sure Shadowclaw doesn't hurt you," he meowed protectively.

"I can take care of myself," growled Twilightkit.

Blackberryfang laughed and meowed, "I'm sure you can. But until you're an apprentice, I'll fight your battles for you. You won't fight anything until you are at least twelve moons old. That includes other cats. No more attacking your clan mates".

Twilightkit glared angrily into the distance. Clan cats were weak. She had already been fighting her whole life.

"Why don't you go… watch the apprentices train?" he meowed. She could tell it took him a minute to think of something for her to do. Probably afraid she would hurt another puny kit. Twilight knew she hadn't caused either kit real damage, but these clan cats were horrified with her. _Good, _thought Twilightkit wryly. Maybe they would relies she wasn't a clan cat and let her go.

Blackberryfang nudged her into the clan camp. She could feel the stares of cats boring into her pelt and she raised her head proud fully. She was not ashamed of what she had done. Blackberryfang pointed her towards a group of apprentices. They were laughing and one of them pounced playfully on his friend.

Twilightkit sat and watched them sullenly. Rainpaw, a grey tom, had tackled Flamepaw, and orange tabby she-cat. She rolled and kicked at his stomach clumsily. Twilightkit knew that she was kicking in the wrong place, and that Flamepaw should have aimed a bit higher to get solid hits.

Flamepaw rolled and knocked Rainpaw off her. Twilightkit saw a clear opening to leap onto Rainpaw and get to his throat, but Flamepaw seemed to be out of breath. Disgusted, Twilightkit watched as the two cats missed opening after opening. The battle could have been won ages ago, but the cats continued with the ridiculous fight. Finally Flamepaw got the upper hand and pinned Rainpaw.

"Got you," she meowed triumphantly.

""Oh let me up you great lump!" yowled Rainpaw, "I'll get you next time!"

Twilightkit couldn't hold it in. She actually groaned aloud, "Oh please, not _another _ridiculous fight"

One of the apprentices started and stared at her. "What do you mean by that?" she asked. Palepaw was this apprentice's name. She was sand colored and her green eyes narrowed questioningly.

"Only that I could have beaten either one of you ages ago. You're terrible fighters," said Twilightkit as she rolled her eyes.

"Really?" asked yet another apprentice. This one had grey dapples and was called Dapplepaw. He took a step towards Twilightkit. "How could you beat me? You're not exactly big are you?"

Twilightkit felt heat rise to her ears. "That's because I'm younger than you. Just wait till I'm as big as you, and I'll show you how a strong cat fights!"

Palepaw laughed. "Listen to her little voice squeak!" she purred, "How adorable."

Twilightkit snarled. She was on her feet in a second. "Say that to my face, you heap of badger dung!"

Palepaw giggled again and turned to walk away. Her sister, Flamepaw gave Twilightkit a sympathetic glance. "Don't worry kit. You'll be an apprentice soon enough." The other apprentices followed Palestripe and walked into the apprentice den. Twilightkit stared after them, seething. With a frustrated sigh, she dropped to her belly. She heard paws coming near her, but ignored them. Probably yet another cat to taunt her, she guessed.

"It must be hard," meowed a she-cat. Twilight flattened her ears. "Being taken away from your home and stuck with all the strange cats trying to bend you to their set of rules," the cat continued. Twilightkit looked up, her face mournful. She recognized the cat standing above her as Echopaw, the medicine cat apprentice. Echopaw was a silver tabby with white paws and chest fur. Her ear tips and muzzle were also white.

"I wouldn't know what to do if I was taken away from this place. The clan is my home. I know that right now it seems rigid compared to your normally free lifestyle, but it is quite a bit safer here. Cats are closer, and you can find friends. You don't need to kill and fight constantly to survive. Just give it a chance".

Twilightkit stared up at the cat. What she said seemed unbelievable. That cats could work together and wouldn't backstab each other at the first chance. Yet… It would be considerably more easy to let her guards down and try to trust these cats. She was better than them, she knew that. But perhaps she could let them get to know her. Twilightkit looked up at Echopaw and nodded very slightly. Echopaw smiled.

"Well come on then. Let's get you back to the nursery. It's nearly dusk," she purred. She stood aside and let Twilightkit walk herself to the nursery. Twilightkit felt at home for the first time. Finally, here was a cat who actually let her do things herself. It was a nice change from cats carrying her everywhere as if she couldn't walk.

Echopaw smiled at Twilightkit once again as the black kit curled up into a small moss nest in the corner. Twilightkit gave a slight smile back and curled up into a ball. She didn't even mind the queens in the nursery curling their kits closer to them and giving suspicious glares. She was happy that now she finally had a cat who understood her.


End file.
